TeaEmporium "Official" Black Tea Topic

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NEW! Official Black Tea Vendor Guide for TeaEmporium.com Consider this a perennial topic for Black teas from TeaEmporium to discuss and review.

But first off I will give props to kymidwife for her many endorsements and recommends. Which mostly fell on deaf ears as I had not been pleased with tea bought in bulk from another Indian tea company. The shipping had been outrageous and you didn't find out the amount till after you ordered the tea. Thereby holding your tea for ransome basically; you pay or you don't get the tea. The volume you had to buy was also large for never having sampled it. In those cases you are stuck with a lot of not so good tea.

But this year Sarah and I exchanged many samples and we got to taste a lot of the 2010 First Flush crops.

The Tea Emporium 2010 Castleton Moonlight just floored me. The best First Flush I had tasted so far ... until the Puttabong. Oh my! The Puttabong has a bit more bite, leaving the memory of the smoothness of the Castleton behind. I was ready to order right there on the spot. But then, then, came the Turzum. Oh this just keeps getting better! Full of flavor and a nice bite of astringency. A beautiful light golden brew, this stuff is the ultimate FF Darjeeling.

Just to be sure I ordered 2 lots of the Turzum and one Puttabong. And the Dooteriah White Delight was just to interesting to pass up.

And guess what? The shipping is included in the price!! No surprises.And they take Paypal!

How can it get any better? How about this lovely presentation?A hand stitched muslin bag, and boy can you smell the fresh greeness of the tea right though the packaging!

I hated to cut the bag, but it had to be done!Inside - brown waxed bags with an overwrap of foil and tied with string:

I know in the past I have warned off newbies from buying direct from India, until they really know their preferences, or have sampled. Which is still sound advice. These teas do eventually make it to local vendors, but chopped and cut and not as fresh. You can still get a good feel for the tea buy sampling there first, then buying direct. But Tea Emporium has restored my faith in buying direct, and I no longer would hesitate to recommend. As long as you know which flush you love, I say go for it. I know you will be pleased!

I've ordered from Tea Emporium for 3 years in a row. The customer service has been excellent. The tea has been excellent. The tea descriptions on the website have been very reliable. The shipping has been fast and free for orders of 50.00 USD and up. The prices are very competitive, especially considering the shipping. There are discounts for bulk purchase. The tea is packaged with great care, as shown by Victoria. And did I mention, the tea is *excellent*.

I got lucky... this was the first company I had ever ordered direct from India. I'm so glad I landed on this company first. I have been nothing but pleased every single year. Knowing how much Victoria loves First Flush Darjeelings, I'm so glad we did this sample trade, because it gave me the chance to finally win her over!

They were kind enough to go with my order when I got a Sungma and just that last year. 12 bucks for some pretty nice darjeelings. It's too bad I don't really do darjeelings. Now, if they did Assams, I'd be in hog heaven...

Ha! Well they are fast!! I got the email yesteray saying they were"about to complete the list". So great!!! Not a 2nd flush girl,as I have said. But go for it!! You would have to ask if moreare coming. Now I feel like I am on the show "Concentration", behind what block did I see someone asking for Muscatel flavour,I see them touting the Sungma as such. Heh.